Revolver cylinder stop



E. E. GEBER REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP- Original Filed June 20, 1962 June 8,1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :uvsmvrc luane 6L. Gabef" CflT-roRMBY/ June 8,1965 E. E. GEBER 3,187,454

REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP Original Filed June 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 :444% IS a -HHHHHMHH '14 & ////l."//////////,/////////////////////III/11011111111111 I IZIB W 7 A s 5 .8 454'? I 93 s3 61 es 6? Ezfienesaber June 8, 1965 E. E. GEBER REVOLVER CYLINDER STOP Original FiledJune 20, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 i' S ber 10% WdQr 0W Patented June 8,1965 3,137,454 REVGLVER CYLINDER STOP Eugene E. Geher, 1908 Douglas St,Rockford, Ill. Original appiication tune 20, 1962, Ser. No. 203,948.Divided and this application .ian. 15, 1964, Ser. No.

10 (llairns. (Cl. 4267) This is a division of application Serial No.203,948, filed June 20, 1962.

This invention relates to a revolver including a cylinder rotatablymounted on a frame, a hammer and a trigger pivoted on the frame in theusual manner and operatively connected so that retraction of the triggercocks and releases the hammer, and mechanism for indexing the cylinderstep by step in response to the trigger movements to bring successivecartridges into alinement with the barre], the cylinder being latched inplace after each step. Such revolvers also include a cartridge extractorfor removing spent cartridges from the cylinder, and a trigger guardmounted on the underside of the frame to extend downwardly under thetrigger.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a revolver ofthe above character having an improved firing action and capable ofbeing manufactured at lower cost than prior revolvers of this type.

Another object is to form, mount and actuate the cylinder latch in anovel manner such that the cylinder is released with a reduced amount oftrigger movement whereby a larger proportion of the trigger stroke isavailable for indexing the cylinder thereby to achieve a smoother actionand permit greater manufacturing tolerances in the firing mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a side elevationail view ofa revolver embodying the novel features of the present invention withparts of the revolver broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 22of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of the trigger guard.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 44of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 with the parts in adifferent condition.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view taken in a vertical plane along the rearend of the cylinder in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line7-7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 is a fragrnentary sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIG.5.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 99of FIG. 1.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken in a verticalplane through the hammer and the rear end portion of the cylinder latchduring the firing stroke of the hammer.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view of the latch and the latch link.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 1212 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged perspective view of the C-r'ing for securing thecylinder to its spindle.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged perspective View of the crane release slide.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention isembodied in a revolver including a frame 10 with a tubular barrel 11rigidly mounted on the forward end of the frame and opening into acylinder chamber 12 in the frame. A cylinder 13 having a plurality ofangularly spaced cartridge chambers 14, six in the present instance,longitudinally bored therein is rotatably supported in the cylinderchamber on a spindle 15 extending rearwardly from the front wall 17 ofthe chamber and into a central bore 18 in the cylinder. The latter isaxially fixed on and rotates about the spindle to bring successivecartridge chambers into alinement with the barrel bore 19 (FIG. 12) andwith a firing pin 20 guided in the rear portion of the frame formovement toward and away from the rear end of the cylinder to dischargethe cartridges in the chambers 14-.

The revolver is capable of being fired either double action or singleaction and includes the usual hammer 21 pivoted on the rear portion ofthe frame to swing toward and away from the firing pin 20, and the rearend of the cylinder 13 in response to the movements of a trigger 22pivoted on the frame below the cylinder. Also included on the frame is ahand grip 23 and a trigger guard 24- removably secured in a slot 25(FIGS. 1 and 5) in the underside of the frame below the cylinder todefine an opening 27 into which the lower end 23 of the triggerprojects. A lug 29 on the rear end of the guard is seated in a forwardlyopening seat 30 at the rear end of the slot with a screw 31 (FIGS. 1 and5) fastening the front of the guard to the frame and holding the lug 29in the seat 30.

In order that the cylinder may be swung out of the chamber 12 forinsertion and removal of cartridges, the forward end of the spindle 15is pressed into a bore 32. (FIG. 12) in the upper portion of a yoke orcrane 33 recessed into the right-hand side of the frame as viewed inFIG. 12 and fulcrumed adjacent its lower edge on the frame by means of apin 34 (FIG. 1) projecting rearwardly from the crane and journaled in abore 37 in the frame. Thus, the crane supports the cylinder on the frameand pivots about the pin 34 to swing the cylinder clockwise and to theright into the open position shown in broken lines in FIG. 12 in whichthe rear ends of the cartridge chambers 14 are clear of the frame.

An extractor 38 (see FIG. 6) comprising a disc 39 formed with aplurality of arcuate recesses li in its periphery is disposed in acounter-bore 41 in the rear end of the cylinder, the recesses beingalined with and partially encircling the rear ends of the cartridgechambers 14. The extractor disc is fast on the rear end of a rod 42.which passes forwardly through the spindle 15 and the upper end of thecrane as shown in FIG. 12 and is guided in the spindle for back andforth endwise sliding. The front end portion of the rod is disposed in aslot 43 in the barrel tang 44 and forms a plunger for sliding the rodmanually back and forth relative to the cylinder. A suitable spring (notshown) urges the rod forwardly to seat the extractor disc in thecounterbore 41.

When the rod is shifted rearwardly, the extractor engages the rims ofcartridges in the chambers 14 and draws the cartridges out of thechambers. In a manner to be described, the extractor is angularly fixedrelative to the cylinder to maintain the alinement of the recesses 40with the chambers.

To latch the cylinder in its normal position in the frame, a center pin45 is guided for back and forth endwise sliding in the extractor rod 42and is spring-urged rearwardly into a position in which the rear end ofthe center pin projects through a hole 47 in the center of the extractordisc and into an alined hole 48 (FIG. 7) in the adjacent wall 49 of theframe. Thus, the center pin 45 latches the cylinder in place in theframe. A beveled groove (not shown) in the front'of the wall 49 leadsinto the hole 48 from the side of the wall and cams the center pin intoa retracted position as the cylinder is swung in- Wardly. When thecenter pin is alined with the hole, its spring (not shown) snaps itrearwardy into the hole to latch the cylinder.

To release the cylinder, a bolt or crane release slide 51 (FIGS. 1, 7and 14) disposed in a cavity 52 (FIG. 7) in the rear portion of theframe behind the wall 49 is guided for back and forth sliding toward andaway from the wall to carry a pin 53 into and out of the hole 48. Whenthe slide is forward, the forward end of the slide pin is substantiallyflush with the front side of the wall 49 so that the center pin 45 isdisengaged and the cylinder may be swung outwardly as shown in FIG. 1.

Herein, the slide 51 comprises an elongated bar 54 slidable endwisealong a side wall 55 (FIG. 7) of the cavity 52 with an upright bar 53fast on its front end and projecting upwardly along the wall 49. Theslide pin 53 is pressed into the upright bar 58 and extends forwardlytherefrom at the level of the hole 48. Slidable along the outside of thewall 55 is a thumbpiece 59 having a neck 60 (FIG. 7) disposed in a slot61 opening through the wall 55, the thumbpiece being fastened to the bar54 by a screw 62 passed through the'neck and threaded into a tapped hole63 (FIG. 14) in the bar. The neck is made shorter than the length of theslot 61 to accommodate the back and forth motion of the slide, and thelatter is urged forwardly by a coiled compression spring 64 (FIG.

7) disposed in a bore 65 opening rearwardly from the neck, the springbeing compressed between the closed end of the bore and a plunger 67abutting against the rear end of the slot 61. The center pin springexerts a force sufficient to overcome the slide spring 64so that thecenter pin presses the slide pin 53 rearwardly when the thumbpiece isreleased.

The trigger 22 is pivoted intermediate its ends on a horizontal pin 68(FIGS. 1, and 9) fast at opposite ends in the lower portions of the sidewalls 55, 57 of the cavity 52 below the rear end of the cylinder 13. Thelower end of the trigger extends through the underside of the frame andinto the trigger guard 24 through a slot 69 therein. Normally, thetrigger is held in the released position shown in FIG. 1 by a triggerspring 70 (FIGS. 1, 4 and 5) disposed in a bore 71 in the guard 24 andacting against the rear side of the trigger through a strut 72 to urgethe trigger forwardly. A knee 73 on the trigger abuts against the frontend'of the slot ,69 to limit forward swinging and determine the releasedposition of the trigger.

- As shown most clearly in FIG. 5, the hammer 2 1 is disposed in theupper portion of the cavity 52 and is fulcrumed intermediate its ends ona horizontal pin 74 spanning the side walls of the cavity. The upper endportion 75 of the hammer projects out of the frame through an upwardlyopening slot 77 and swings back and forth in a vertical plane toward andaway from the wall 49 and the firing pin in the firing and cookingstrokes. A main spring (not shown) in the hand grip 23 acts against astrut 78 (FIG. 5) abutting at one end against the rear edge of'thehammer to urge the latter counterclockwise (FIGS. 1 and 5) about itspivot and the upper end portion 75 forwardly toward the firing pin 20.The latter is disposed in a hardened metal cup 79 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5)fitted in a recess in the front of the wall 49 with an annular shoulder81 on the pin urged rearwardly against the bottom of the recess by acoiled spring .82. The front end 83 of the pin is movable forwardlytoward the cylinder through a hole in the bottom of the cup. Therear'end 84 of the pin normally projects through the wall 49 forengagement with the hammer.

To convert the swinging of the trigger 22 about its pivot into swingingof the hammer 21 through the cocking and firing strokes, during doubleaction operation of the revolver, a cocking finger 85 (FIG. 5) is formedon the upper end of the trigger to engage the lower end of a hammer pawl87 fulcrumed at 88 intermediate its ends on the front edge of the hammerin a manner well known in the art. The lower end of the pawl is urgedcounterclockwise about its fulcrum by a spring (not shown) seated in abore drilled into the front edge of the hammer so that the spring bearsagainst the lower end portion of the pawl to swing the upper end of thelatter into abutting engagement with the hammer.

As the trigger is retracted, the cocking finger S5 swings upwardly andforwardly to raise the pawl 87 and thereby swings the hammer rearwardlyinto the position shown in FIG. 5. At the same time, a foot 89 on thelower end of the hammer swings forwardly into a rearwardly opening notch99 (FIG. 5 below the finger 35 until the lower wall 91 of the notchengages the underside of the foot 89. Then, during continued retractionof the trigger, the notch wall 91, acting against the underside of thefoot, swings the hammer still further in the cocking direction. Duringthis portion of the cocking stroke, the cocking finger swings out of thepath of the pawl and the notch wall 91 slides along the foot until itslides free of the foot at a predetermined point along the triggers paththereby releasing the hammer to the action of the main spring.

When this occurs, the hammer snaps forwardly in a rapid firing strokeand strikes the rear end of the pin 20 to drive the latter into the rear'end of the cartridge then'alined with the firing pin therebydischarging the revolver. Upon release of the trigger, the spring 70swings the trigger forwardly until the knee 73 engages the end of theslot 69. It will be seen that the cocking finger engages the front sideof the lower end portion of the pawl 87 during this return stroke of thetrigger and presses the pawl toward the hammer in. passing. Then thepawl spring snaps the pawl back into its normal position.

During single action operation, that is, when the revolver is cocked bypulling rearwardly on the hammer 21, the foot 89 acts against the upperwall 92 of the notch to swing the trigger rearwardly until the footswings out of the notch. Then the trigger spring 70 swings the cockingfinger 85 rearwardly so that the cocking finger locks against a shoulderon the hammer to hold the hammer cocked until the trigger is pulled. Alaterally projecting tang 93 (FIG. 7) on the slide bar abuts against therear edge of the hammer to prevent cocking of the latter when thecylinder is open and the slide 51 is forward.

To bring successive cartridge chambers 14 into alinement with the barrelbore 19 and the firing pin 20 after each shot, a cylinder pawl or hand94 is mounted in the cavity 52 to engage a ratchet 95 (FIG. 6) on therear end of the cylinder, in this instance on the extractor disc 39, andturn the cylinder one step during each cocking stroke of'the hammer. Forthis purpose, the hand comprises an elongated upright plate having aforwardly projecting finger 97 (FIGS. 5 and 6) at its upper end andpivoted adjacent its lower end on a stud 98 (FIG. 5) pro- I jectinglaterally from one side of the hammeradjacent the lower end of thelatter, the hand thus being offset to one side of the cylinder axis asshown in FIG. 6. ,A bowed spring 99 fulcrumed on a pin (not shown)somewhat above the stud 93 rides along an upwardly and forwardlyinclined ledge 100 (FIG. 5) in the cavity 52 to press the hand forwardlyinto a vertical slot 101 (FIG. 7) opening through the wall 49 as thelower end of the hammer swings the hand upwardly during the cockingstroke. Thus, the hand reciprocates back and forth in the slot 101across the end of the cylinder in a vertical plane spaced from thecylinder axis.

' The ratchet comprises a plurality of teeth 102,

herein six, each formed with a trailing side 1033 disposed energies andthe hammer pulled rearwardly and released in successive strokes. Duringeach rearward stroke of the hammer, the cylinder 13 is indexed by thehand 94 and locked in place by the latch 105 just is if the hammer wereoperated by the trigger.

The latch link 117 is coupled to the trigger guard 24 with a lost motionconnection and projects at one end into the bore 113 housing the latchspring 112. The other end of the link abuts against the seat 114- in theunderside of the latch. With this arrangement, the link is held on thetrigger guard and confines the spring 112 in the bore even when thetrigger guard is removed (FIG. 3) while at the same time being slid-ableback and forth relative to the trigger guard through a range sufiicientto accommodate the cylinder locking and unlocking movements of the latch1&5.

Herein, the bore 113 is formed by drilling a hole almost through theupper front portion of the trigger guard on an axis extending rearwardlyand inclined slightly upwardly toward the underside of the latch. Theforward end of the bore is closed by a screw 12% (FIGS. 1 and againstwhich the coiled compression spring 112 abuts and the other end opensinto a slot 129 narrower than the diameter of the hole and milled intothe top edge of the trigger guard. The link 117 is guided in this slotfor back and forth endwise sliding and abuts at its forward end againstthe pin 115 which is urged rearwardly by the spring.

Preferably, the link 117 is a fiat and somewhat elongated plate having aslot 13% therein extending longitudinally of the plate and receiving apin 131 spanning the upright side walls of the slot 129. With the link117 pressed rearwardly and upwardly by the spring 112, the pin 131normally abuts against the forward end of the slot 139 as shown in FIG.1, this being the position in which the cylinder is locked. The slot13%), which cooperates with the pin 131 to form the lost motionconnection between the trigger guard and the link, is long enough toaccommodate the full forward and downward motion of the latch during thecooking of the hammer.

The upper end or nose 132 of the link 117 is arcuate in contour andcomplements the curvature of the seat 114 in the underside of the latch,the seat being formed in the side of a lug 133 integral with andextending downwardly from the latch body. As the latch is guideddownwardly, and forwardly along the trigger pivot pin 68, the link iscorrespondingly shifted downwardly and forwardly along the pin 13 Whilesimultaneously pivoting about the pin. Then, as the trigger pin slidesalong the rear portion of the latch slot M1, the link pivotscounterclockwise about the pin 131 and slides further downwardly alongthe pin, the arcuate end 132. or" the link rotating about the pin 131and sliding relative to the pin and the seat 114 during the motion or"the latch to accommodate the changing angular relation of the link withthe pin 133i and the latch.

Similarly, the trigger spring bore '71 is drilled into the rear portionof the trigger guard 24 as shown most clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4 and opensinto a slot 13 extending forwardly through the guard and lined with therear edge of the trigger, the slot being narrower than the diameter ofthe bore. A plunger 135 is inserted into the bore 71 through the openrear end thereof and a spring '76 is compressed between the plunger headand a cap 137 pressed into the end of the bore and held in place by apin res (FIGS. 1 and 5). Thus, the spring 73 and plunger 135 areretained in the trigger guard for removal therewith from the frame bystops in the bore comprising the cap 137 and the forward end 3139 (FIG.4) of the bore.

1 The trigger strut 7'2 comprises an elongated ilat stamping pinned at14%? to the trigger and extending rearwardly through the slot 134 intothe bore 71 to abut against the plunger 135. Mounted in this manner, thestrut is guided in the slot for back and forth endwise sliding inresponse to retraction and release of the trigger and transmits thespring force to the trigger.

When the trigger guard is removed, the latch spring 1T2 holds the link1.17 in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and the pin 13?. and thelink, in turn, hold the spring in the bore. The strut 72, being securedto the trigger, slides out of the slot 134 so that the plunger 155 abutsagainst the forward end 139 of the bore "ill which thus preventsaccidental separation of the trigger spring from the guard. it will beseen, therefore, that the trigger spring assembly and the latch springassembly form a unitary group of parts removable in one simpleoperation, that is, by removing the screw 31 and pulling the guard awayfrom the frame, and maintained in proper relation even after the guardis removed.

To reassemble the guard on the frame, the link 117 is guided into theseat 114 and the slot 134 is alined with the strut 72 as tl' guard ispositioned against the underside of the frame. When the guard is seatedagainst and fastened to the frame, the parts automatically assume theirproper positions relative to the strut and the latch.

Advantage is taken of the position and movement of the strut "72 toeilect the so-called rebound of the hammer after it completes its firingstroke. The rebound is the shifting of the hammer rearwardly a shortdistance from its forward position and into an intermediate position(FIG. 1) which the upper end of the hammer is spaced from the firing pin2t). This is accomplished by means of a lug Mil integral with the strut72 and projecting upwardly from the rear end of the strut out of theslot i134 and into the cavity 52. When the hammer is at rest, the lug14% bears against the underside of a rounded abutment 141 (FIG. 1) onthe lower end of the hammer. As the trigger is retracted and the strutand lug slide rearwardly, the hammer abutment first moves forwardly andthen, during the firing stroke, swings rearwardly past the positionshown in FIG. 1. The lug 149, however, is positioned even furtherrearwardly before the trigger is released and, therefore, slidesforwardly into contact with the abutment 141 to swinr the hammer intothe intermediate position shown in FIG. 1 as the trigger spring returnsthe trigger to its released position. Thus, the strut '72 replaces boththe rebound slides and the trigger levers found on prior revolvershaving actions of this type.

The cylinder 13 is mounted on the spindle 15 in a novel manner whichsimplifies the manufacture of the revolver and which permits the easyremoval of the cylinder when desired. For these purposes, the cylinderand the spindle are formed with alined internal and external grooves 142and 143 respectively, and a radially expandable and contractible ring144 (FIGS. 1, 5 and 8) having a larger normal outer diameter than thediameter of the cylinder bore 1% is pressed into the bore and seated inthe internal groove 142 prior to assembly of the cylinder on thespindle. The ring 144, which herein is a split C-ring,'is radiallycompressed to fit into the cylinder bore and then snaps outwardly intothe groove 1142. Thus, the C-ring is permanently mounted in thecylinder.

The normal inner diameter of the C-ring is somewhat smaller than thespindle diameter (see FIG. 5) to contract into the groove 143 whenalined therewith. Thus, when the cylinder is telescoped onto thespindle, the C-ring 14 i first is expanded as permitted by clearance inthe cylinder groove 14-2 and then snaps back inwardly into the spindlegroove 143. The free end of the spindle is beveled at 145 to spread theC-ring as it is passed onto the spindle. To facilitate removal of thecylinder, coacting cam surfaces are formed on the rear face of theC-ring and on the adjacent wall of the groove 143 to cam the ringradially outwardly in response to a greater than normal axial force onthe cylinder thereby to release the cylinder from the spindle. in thisinstance, the rear wall of the groove 143 is cham'iered at 147 for thispurpose.

It will be seen that the manufacturing steps involved in providing thismounting for the cylinder are quite simple. All that is necessary is thecutting of the two grooves 342 311(1143 in the cylinder bore and thespindle and the provision of the C-ring 144 to be inountedin the groovesto hold the cylinder on the spindle.

With this arrangement, the upward and forward motion of the hand bringsthe finger 97 into engagement with a corner 104 of the tooth 102 andturns the extractor and cylinder counterclockwise (FIG. 6) until theside 1G3 parallels the side of the hand. During the final portion of thecooking stroke, the hand slides along the side 103 as indicated inbroken lines in FIG. 6 and then is shifted downwardly toward thereleased position (FIG. 1) as the hammer snaps forwardly.

A latch 165 is provided to lock the cylinder 13 in place during thefiring stroke thereby to maintain precise alinement of the cartridgechambers during firing. For this purpose, six stop notches 107 areangularly spaced around the periphery of the cylinder to open downwardlywhen disposed on the underside of the cylinder, and the latch 105 ismounted below the cylinder to rock toward and away from the cylinder intimed relation with the hammer movements. The latch includes an upwardlyextending 7 lug 108 forming a stop engageable with the notch then alinedwith the stop and operable when engaged to lock the cylinder in apredetermined angular relation in the frame.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the latch 105 isformed, mounted and actuated in a novel manner such that the cylinder 13is releasedwith a reduced amount of trigger movement as compared toprior latching arrangements whereby a larger proportion of the availabletrigger movement may be devoted to the indexing of the cylinder. As aresult of the longer indexing stroke, the trigger pull requires lessforce and has a smoother action. Moreover, the additional triggermovement available for indexing permits greater manufacturing tolerancesin the firing mechanism with resulting cost savings in production of therevolver.

To achieve the foregoing ends, the latch 105 is mount ed on the framefor sliding along a downwardly inclined path and simultaneous rockingaway from the cylinder, and the forward motion of the lower end of thehammer 21 at the start of the cooking stroke is utilized to effect thesimultaneous sliding and rocking motion of the latch thereby todisengage the stop with a small amount of trigger movement. For thispurpose, the latch is guided for sliding downwardly along its pivot andthe rear end portion 109 of the latch is disposed adjacent the lower endof the hammer when the latter'is in the released position (FIG. 1) sothat a member 110 carried on the lower end of the hammer engages thelatch and shifts it forw-ardly and downwardly as the hammer begins tomove.

In the present instance, the latch comprises an elongated one-piecestamping disposed alongside the upper end or" the trigger with the stoplug 108 at the forward end of its body formed with an upper edge whichis convexly curved to complement the curvature of the bottoms of thestop notches 107 when the latch is in its uppermost position as shown inFIG. 1. The latch is guided on the frame by means herein comprising anelongated slot 111 formed intermediate the ends of the latch to receivethe trigger pivot pin 68. The forward portion of the slot is inclinedforwardly and downwardly at an angle preferably of'approximatelyforty-five degrees and the rear portion of the slot is generallyhorizontal.

A latch spring 112 compressed in a bore 113 in the front portion of thetrigger guard 24 acts against a seat 114 in the underside of the latchthrough a pin 115 slidable in the bore 113 and a link 117 abutting atone end against the seat and at the other end against the pin 115 tourge the latch both upwardly and rearwardly. Thus, the latch normally ispositioned as shown in FIG, 1 with the pin 1'15 abut-ting against thefront end of the slot 111 and with the stop 108 engaging one of the stopnotches 107.

turned upwardly from the latch body and having a rear surface defining aconcave rearwardly facing seat 119 dis- The rear end of the latch isformed with a toe 118 v posed alongside the lower end portion of thehammer. The member for shifting the latch forwardly herein takes theform of a spring-loaded plunger (See FIG. 10) comprising a cylindricalpin having a rounded end 120 projecting laterally from the side of thehammer through a hole 121 to abut against the seat 119 when the hammeris at rest. On the other end of the pin is an annular head 122 disposedin a cup 123 pressed into a counterbore 124 around the hole 121 in theother side of the hammer and guided in the cup 123 for back and forthlateral sliding. The plunger is pressed toward the extendedpositionshown in FIG. 10 by a coiled spring 125 compressed between thepin and the closed end of the cup 123, the head 122 abutting against ashoulder defined between the counterbore and the hole to limit theextent of its projection from the side of the hammer.

It will be seen that the initial retraction of the trigger 22 from thebroken line position in FIG. 5 to the full line position begins torot-ate the hammer clockwise and, therefore, swings the plunger 110forwardly to the position shown in FIG. 5. This motion of the plungershifts the latch forwardly along the trigger pin 68 which co-acts withthe inclined sides of the slot 111 to cam the latch downwardly as itmoves forwardly to the full line position in FIG. 5. Simultaneously, theupward movement of the plungerswings the latch counterclockwise aboutthe pin 68 thereby increasing the downward movement of the stop 108.Thus, these sliding and rocking motions cooperate to release thecylinder early in the trigger stroke as will be evident from relativelysmall amount of trigger motion required to swing the plunger to theposition shown in FIG. 5.

The length and motion of the hand 94 are correlated with the motion ofthe latch 105 so that the hand engages the ratchet 95 as soon as thecylinder 13 is released and therefore immediately begins to turn thecylinder. As continued retraction of the trigger 22 swings the hammer 21further in the cooking direction, the plunger 110 moves forwardly andupwardly out of the seat 119 and over the end of the toe 118 therebyshifting the latch endwise toward the broken line position (FIG. 5) inwhich the pin 6a; is adjacent the rear end of the slot 111. When theplunger clears the toe end and releases the latch, the latter is snappedrearwardly and upwardly by the latch spring 112 so that the stop 108enters the next stop notch 1617 when the indexing step is complete.

It will be seen that the additional available trigger movement alsopermits the locking of the cylinder well before the hammer is released.Accordingly, greater manufacturing tolerances are possible both in thefiring mechanism and in the latching mechanism. Further, this rearwardand upward movement of the latch'insures positive locking of thecylinder even during rapid operation of the revolver.

During the firing stroke of the hammer 21, the plunger 119 swings from aposition above the latch back to the normal position in which the pinbears against the seat 119. To facilitate swinging of the pin back pastthe toe 118, coacting surfaces are formed on the pin and the upper edgeof the toe to cam the pin into a recessed posit1on in the hammer.Herein, these surfaces comprise the rounded end 120 of the pin and anupper edge 127 (FIGS. 10 and 11) of the toe, the edge 127 being inclinedupwardly and away from the adjacent "side of the hammer as shown inFIGS. 10 and 11. Thus, as the pin swings downwardly and rearwardly, itengages the surface 127 and is pressed thereby into the hole 121 againstthe action of the spring 125. When the hammer reaches the position shownin FIG. 1, the pin snaps end-wise into alin'ement with the seat 119 inposition to actuate the latch during the next cocking stroke of thehammer.

Constructed in this manner, the revolver is capable of true singleaction operation and may be fired rapidly simply by fanning the hammer21. In other words, the trigger'22 may be held in the fully retractedposition To hold the extractor .33 in axial alinement with the cartridgechambers 14, a ring 148- is pressed into the enlarged rearwardly openingend 149 of the cylinder bore 18, keying the ring to the extractor, andsecuring the ring both axially and angularly to the cylinder. As shownmost clearly in FIGS. and 8, the ring 148 is keyed to the extractor bymeans comprising a pin 150 pressed into a radial hole 151 in the ringand projecting radially inwardly into a longitudinal groove 152 in theextractor rod 4-2, the groove 152 being long enough to accommodate thefull stroke of the extractor in removing the cartridges. To fix the ring148 in the cylinder, both the ring periphery and the enlarged bore end149 are knurled to prevent turning of the ring and a set screw 153 (FIG.8) is threaded into the rear end of the cylinder in position tointerlock with the ring and the cylinder. The screw reinforces theknurls and also fixes the ring against axial shifting relative to thecylinder.

The ratchet teeth 102 are formed in at least partially recessedpositions in the rear end of fig: cylinder, in this instance in theextractor disc 39, so that the rear ends of the teeth lie closelyadjacent the front of the wall 49. Each tooth is produced by two simplemilling cuts in the disc 39, one forming a recess 154 having an enddefining the trailing tooth side 103 and the other forming a recess 155intersecting the recess 154 to define the corner 104.

Each of the recesses 154 is formed by advancing the side of a half-roundball cutter (not shown) radially into the disc along a path parallelingthe cylinder axis with the flat end of the cutter in a plane spaced fromand paralleling the axis at a distance equal to the offset of the hand94 from the axis. Thus, the rounded side of the cutter shapes the bottomof the recess to an arcuate cross section and the flat end of the cuttershapes the flat trailing side 183 of the tooth. Successive recesses areformed by rotating the disc sixty degrees between cuts. Then, the cutteris advanced into the disc in a series of cuts with its fiat endintersecting the recesses 154 intermediate the ends of the sides 103 andpreferably perpendicular thereto to form the recesses 15S and thecorners 104 of the sides 103.

With these two simple operations, each tooth is formed with a corner 1G4positioned to be engaged by the hand 9 and moved as previouslydescribed, until the hand passes alongside the tooth. With the handbearing against one of the sides 183 until the stop lug 103 is seated inone of the notches 197, the cylinder is positively held in properalinement. The force of the hand is applied against the corners 104rather than against the fiat sides 103 during turning thereby avoidingthe application of reactive forces against the hand tending to cam itsidewise and cause binding of the hand against the side of the hammer.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that a revolver constructed inthe manner described above may be manufactored at a substantial costsaving as compared to prior revolvers of this type. Because of the novelcylinder"- latching arrangement, not only is the action of the revolversmoother but the proportion of the trigger movement available forindexing the cylinder has been increased with the result that greatermanufacturing tolerances are permissible in the latching and firingmechanisms. Thus, the latch 105, the hand 94, the strut '72, and thelink 117 may be relatively inexpensive stampings, and greater tolerancesare permissible in the machining of the hammer 21 and the trigger 22.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame and having an upper end portion swingable rearwardly awayfrom one end of said cylinder in a cocking stroke, and forwardly into areleased posit-ion in a firing stroke, an elongated generally horizontallatch disposed below said cylinder, a stop adjacent the forward end ofsaid latch projecting upwardly to engage one of said notches and holdthe cylinder in a selected angular position in said frame when saidlatch is in a predetermined position, the rear end portion of said latchbeing disposed on one side of the lower end portion of said hammer whenthe latter is in said released position, an elongated slot intermediatethe ends of said latch and inclined forwardly and downwardly in thelatch, a pin fast on said frame and extending through the forward end ofsaid slot to pivot the latch on the frame and guide the latch for backand forth endwise movement along a forwardly and downwardly inclinedpath, a spring acting against the underside of said latch to urge thelatter upwardly and rearwardly into said predetermined position, aplunger carried on said one side and laterally movable back and forthbetween an extended position and a recessed position, a spring yieldablyurging said plunger into said extended position, said plunger beingswingable forwardly and upwardly with said lower end portion during saidcocking stroke, a seat on said rear end portion disposed in the pathfollowed by said plunger during the initial portion of said cockingstroke whereby the plunger shifts the latch forwardly and downwardlyfrom said predetermined position and simultaneously rocks said stopdownwardly to release said cylinder and shift said seat out of saidpath, said latch spring returning said latch to said predeterminedposition after said plunger clears said seat thereby to latch saidcylinder, and an upper edge on said latch disposed in the return pathfollowed by said plunger during said firing stroke, said upper edgebeing inclined upwardly and away from said one side to earn said plungerinto said recessed position against the act-ion of said spring andpermit the plunger to pass by the rear end of the latch and snap backinto said projecting position and into said seat.

2. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame and having an upper end portion swingable rearwardly awayfrom one end of said cylinder in a cocking stroke and forwardly into areleased position in a firing stroke, an elongated latch disposed belowsaid cylinder and having a stop thereon engaging one of said notches tohold the cylinder in a selected angular position in said frame when saidlatch is in a predetermined position, the rear end portion of said latchbeing disposed on one side of the lower end portion of said hammer whenthe latter is in said released position, means on said frame guidingsaid latch for back and forth endwise movement and simultaneous up anddown shifting of said stop to latch and release said cylinder, atplunger carried on said one side and laterally movable back and forthbetween an extended position and a recessed position, a spring yieldablyurging said plunger into said extended position, said plunger beingswingable forwardly with said lower end portion during said cockingstroke, a first surface on said rear end portion disposed in the pathfollowed by said plunger during the initial portion of said cockingstroke whereby the plunger shifts said latch forwardly from saidpredetermined position to release said cylinder and shift said firstsurface out of said path, spring means urging said latch upwardly andrearwardly to return the latch to said predetermined position after saidplunger clears said first surface thereby to latch said cylinder, andcoacting cam surfaces on the upper edge of said latch and on saidplunger engageable as the plunger passes the rear end of the latchduring said firing stroke, said cam surfaces being operable to cam saidplunger into said recessed position against the action of said springand permit the plunger to pass by the rear end of the latch.

3. A revolver as defined in claim 2 in which said cam surfaces includean upper edge of said latch disposed in the path followed by saidplunger during said firing stroke and inclined upwardly and away fromsaid one side.

4. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a harnmer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end ofsaid' cylinder in a firing stroke and into a released positionrearwardly away from the cylinder in a cocking stroke, an elongatedlatch disposed below said cylinder and having a stop lug adjacent itsforward end extending upwardly and normally'engaging one of said notchesto hold said cylinder in a selectedangular position in said frame, therear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent the lower endportion of said hammer when the latter is in said released position,said latch having an elongated slot intermediate its ends inclinedforwardly and downwardly adjacent its front end and generally horizontaladjacent its rear end,'a pin fast on said frame and projecting into thefrontend of said slot to pivot said latch on said frame, a spring actingbetween said frame and said latch to urge said latch upwardly andrearwardly toward said cylinder and press said lug into said one notch,a member on the lower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly andupwardly as said upper end swings rearwardly toward said cockedposition, and a surface'on said latch engageable with said memberwhereby said lug is rocked downwardly and the latch is shifted endwiseand forwardly along said pin, said pin sliding along said slot andcoacting therewith to shift said lug first downwardly and out of saidone notch and then generally forwardly along said cylinder. a

5. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of saidcylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position andrearwardlyaway from the cylinder in a cooking stroke, an elongated latch disposedbelow said cylinder and having astop thereon normally engaging one ofsaid notches tohold said cylinder in a selected angular position in saidframe, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent thelower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said releasedposition, said latch having an elongated slot intermediate its endsinclined on said latch engageable with said member whereby the stop'isrocked downwardly and the latch is shifted endwise and forwardly alongsaid pin, said pin and said slot enacting to shift said latch and saidstop downwardly as .the stop is rocked downwardly thereby to releasesaid cylinden,

'6. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced'around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of saidcylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position and rearwardlyaway from the cylinder in a cocking stroke,

an elongated-latch disposed below'said cylinder andhavin'g a stopthereon normally engaging one of said notches to hold said cylinder in aselected angular position in said 7 frame, the rear end portion of saidlatch being disposed adjacent the lower end portion of said hammer whenthe latter is in said released position, means pivoting said latchintermediate its ends on said frame-V for up and down rocking movementof said stop toward and awayfrom said,

cylinder and also guiding the latch fo'r endwise movement 7 said latch,a pin fast on said guard and projecting into the forwardly anddownwardly relative to the cylinder,- a

member on the lower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly andupwardly as said upper end swmgs, rear- 12: wardly, and a surface onsaid latch engageable with said member whereby the latter rocks saidstop downwardly and simultaneously shifts the latch forwardly anddownwardly to release said cylinder.

7. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a hammer pivoted intermediate its ends onsaid frame with its upper end swingable forwardly toward one end of saidcylinder in a firing stroke and into a released position rearwardly awayfrom the cylinder in a cocking stroke, an elongated latch disposed belowsaid cylinder and having a stop thereon normally engaging one of saidnotches to hold saidcylinder in a selected angular position in saidframe, the rear end portion of said latch being disposed adjacent thelower end portion of said hammer when the latter is in said releasedposition, means on'said frame guiding said latch for endwise movementforwardly and downwardly relative to said cylinder, a member on thelower end portion of said hammer movable forwardly and upwardly as saidupper end swings rearwardly, and a surface on said latch engageable withsaid member whereby the latch is shifted forwardly and guided downwardlyto release said cylinder during said cocking stroke.

8. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under saidcylinder and movable rearwardly and toward the latter to engage one ofsaid notches and hold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position,the underside of said latch having a seat of concave curvature facingforwardly and downwardly, a trigger guard removably mounted ontheunderside of said frame and having a bore therein extending toward saidseat, a link with one end disposed adjacent said bore and extendingrear-wardly and upwardly toward said seat,

to urge the latter into said seat and press the latch toward ,7

said cylinder, said connection holding said 'link on said guard when thelatter is removed from said frame and thereby holding said spring insaid bore, and means for shiftingtsaid latch forwardly and downwardly torelease said cylinder, said link yielding under such shifting andpivoting about said connection while said upper end rotates in saidseat. a r

9. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of'stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under saidcylinder and movable toward the latter to engage one of said notches andhold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position, a trigger guardremovably mounted on the un-' derside of said frame and having a boretherein extending toward saidilatch, said guard being formed with afirst slot openingtinto the end of said bore adjacent said latch andalso opening through the upper side of the guard toward the underside'of said latch, a link disposed in said a slot with one, end adjacentsaid bore and the other end abutting against the underside of saidlatch, a second elongated slot in said link extending upwardly towardlower end of said second slot, said link being movable downwardly alongsaidpin as said latch moves, away from said cylinder, and'aspringdisposed in said bore and urging said link toward said latch andpressing the latch,

toward said cylinder, said pin holding said link in said first slot whenthe trigger guard is removed from said, 7

frame and thereby holding said spring in said bore.

10. In a revolver, the combination of, a frame, a cylinder rotatablymounted on said frame and having a plurality of stop notches angularlyspaced around its periphery, a latch mounted on said frame under saidcylinder and movable toward the latter to engage one of said notches andhold the cylinder in a predetermined angular position, a trigger guardremovably mounted on the underside of said frame and having a boretherein extending toward the underside of said latch, a link with oneend adjacent said bore and the other end abutting against the undersideof said latch, a lost motion connection between said link and said guardpermitting limited back and forth endwise movement of the link towardand away from said latch, and a spring disposed in said bore and urgingsaid link toward said latch to press the latch toward said cylinder,said connection holding said link on said guard when the latter isremoved from said frame and thereby holding said spring in said bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 336,894 3/86Cilley 4267 X BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

5. IN A REVOLVER, THE COMBINATION OF, A FRAME, A CYLINDER ROTATABLYMOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF STOP NOTCHES ANUGLARLYSPACED AROUND ITS PERIPHERY, A HAMMER PIVOTED INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS ONSAID FRAME WITH ITS UPPER END SWINGABLE FORWARDLY TOWARD ONE END OF SAIDCYLINDER IN A FIRING STROKE AND INTO A RELEASED POSITION AND REARWARDLYAWAY FROM THE CYLINDER IN A COCKING STROKE, AN ELONGATED LATCH DISPOSEDBELOW SAID CYLINDER AND HAVING A STOP THEREON NORMALLY ENGAGING ONE OFSAID NOTCHES TO HOLD SAID CYLINDER IN A SELECTED ANGULAR POSITION INSAID FRAME, THE REAR END PORTION OF SAID LATCH BEING DISPOSED ADJACENTTHE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID HAMMER WHEN THE LATTER IS IN SAID RELEASEDPOSITION, SAID LATCH HAVING AN ELONGATED SLOT INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDSINCLINED FORWARDLY AND DOWNWARLY ALONG THE LATCH, A PIN FAST ON SAIDFRAME AND PROJECTING INTO THE FRONT END OF SAID SLOT TO PIVOT SAID LATCHON SAID FRAME, A MEMBER ON THE LOWER END PORTION OF SAID HAMMER MOVABLEFOR WARDLY AN UPWARDLY AS SAID UPPER END SWINGS REARWARDLY, AND ASURFACE ON SAID LATCH ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MEMBER WHEREBY THE STOP ISROCKED DOWNWARDLY AND THE LATCH IS SHIFTED ENDWISE AND FORWARDLY ALONGSAID PIN, SAID PIN AND SAID SLOT COACTING TO SHIFT SAID LATCH AND SAIDSTOP DOWNWARDLY AS THE STOP IS ROCKED DOWNWARDLY THEREBY TO RELEASE SAIDCYLINDER.